LONDON -- This was supposed to be the match that would kickstart Tottenham Hotspurs' season.
After needing a Harry Kane rescue act to overcome promoted Aston Villa on the opening weekend and then somehow coming away from Manchester City with a statistically miraculous 2-2 draw, this game, against a Newcastle United team who were without a point and had just lost 3-1 at Premier League new boys Norwich City, would be the one where the shackles came off. Or at least, that was the theory.
Instead it was Newcastle who found themselves celebrating a potential turning point after Joelinton's coolly taken goal earned the visitors a wholly unexpected but richly merited 1-0 victory on a cloyingly hot and sunny afternoon at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.